Whenever there is a shooting spree or celebrity murder, people wonder if the killer did it for fame.
Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono believe this was the motivation for the murder of John Lennon in 1980. In response to a film about his killer they released this statement:

“Never repeat the name of his killer. Doing so would only give his killer the fame and notoriety he was seeking."

The question is the same for school shootings and other single-perpetrator mass murders. Is all the media attention and infamy encouraging this type of attack?
So, in line with they McCartney Ono scheme, I propose the following:

Nicknames for the Infamous

We should give mass killers and celebrity killers nicknames.
After a very short window (two hours) after an event, killers would be referred to in the media by a common nickname, following a predetermined list. The theatre shooting in Aurora? That guy is "Foot". The guy who shot up the kids in New Town? That's "Fumble".

Please note that the nicknames are not tough or vicious-sounding. If you shoot up a school, you don't get the nickname "The Joker", "Katana" or "Sangre", you get a sad trombone of a nickname: "Ladle", "Float", or "Loaf".

I'll assume you've seen Reservior Dogs, a movie with a gang of theives, none of whom wants to carry the nickname "Mr. Pink". With the Nicknames for the Infamous scheme, real killers, living or dead, would be saddled with a pre-determined insult. Their real name could be forgotten, replaced by "Bowl" or "Pouty".

For official business, police reports, in the courts, on wikipedia and in history books, the killer's real name would be used. I don't think we should re-write history, I just want to chill the effect of worldwide fame possible through newsworthy crimes.

It's a simple, free change. Any news organization may adopt these nicknames without further consultation.

Nicknames should be used for suspects, and those who are found guilty in court. Nicknames should be dropped for people who are judged to be innocent or not charged due to lack of evidence. Murderers of single non-famous people should be referred to by their real name until they are questioned in an investigation of a second murder.